History

Opec was created at the Baghdad Conference on September 10–14, 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The five were later joined by eight other members: Qatar; Indonesia (which will leave Opec at the end of 2008); Libya;the UAE; Algeria; Nigeria; Ecuador (which suspended its membership from 1992-2007) and Angola. The organization had its headquarters in Geneva for five years before moving to Vienna in 1965.

Opec was formed to coordinate and unify petroleum policies among member countries; to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers; and to ensure a regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations.